Herb's and Trees

Meaning and Folklore

Little bits and pieces and useful info about the plant

ANGELICA ROOT exorcism, protection, visions, healingused in the dark ages to ward off sorcerers and evil spirits, and to break curses; also named "the root of the holy ghost."

APPLE garden magick, immortality, love, healing, strongly associated Avalon, the mythical island of knowledge and healing, commonly viewed as the "fruit of knowledge."; when rubbed against warts and burried will cause the wart to disappear.

ASH psychic powers, healingpart of the sacred Druidic trio of Oak, Ash, and Thorn; wands are used for healing and solar magick.

BASIL love, wealth, flying, banishing, exorcismwhen crushed between two crinks, it magickally transforms into scorpians; Greeks believed it only grew in the gardens of those who suffered misfortune.

BAYBERRY BARK wishes, success, happinesswrite a wish on a piece of this bark and burn it...but be careful what you wish for.

BAY LAUREL psychic powers, visions, strength, purificationused by Romans to crown victors; all the bay trees withering in a country predicts the death of its king; bad luck to burn its wood.

BIRCH protection, exorcism, protection use the bark from a lightening-struck for a potent magikal parchment; crossing your fingers under it will protect against sorcery; protects babies from faeries when placed over its cradle; with red ink, write on a birch strip: "Bring me true love." and burn or cast into a river to bring love.

BROOM purification, protection and divinationalso used in wind spells (burn to calm them); bad luck when brought into the home, especially in the month of May.

CARAWAY luck, faithfulness, mental powersmakes any object it is placed on invisible to thieves; in a dish under a child's bed will protect him/her from nightime evils.

CEDAR prosperity, money, purificationalso known as the "Tree of Life"; ancient celts on the mainland used its oil to preserve the heads of enemies taken in battle.

CLOVER luck, fidelity, consecrationfinding a four leaf clover brings extraordinarily good luck.

DAMIANA love, lust, visionsa shamanic herb, burned by native americans to induce visions.

DANDELION wishes, divination, calling spiritsgood luck if the first one you see in spring has its head hanging towards you; bad luck when brought in the house.

ELDER healing, protection, great for faerie magickdo not burn this tree (in England it is believed that doing so invites the Devil into your home); when carried or worn has remarkable protective qualities; Druids used it to both bless and curse; standing under it at Midsummer will help you see the Fae.

FENNEL protection, purification and healinghung over doors and windows on Midsummer's Eve will keep evil at bay; in the keyholes of doors will keep out ghosts.

FRANKINCENSE spirituality, protection in astral realm, purificationburn on Thursdays to bring concord between enemies; said to be one of the gifts of the Magi.

HAWTHORN fertility, happiness, protection from evilalso known as "May Tree"; blossems said to be erotic to men; also sacred to the Fae and part of the Druidic trio of sacred trees.

HELIOTROPE detecting thieves (placed under a dreamer's head), psychic insight, beautyplaced at the entrance to a church where adulteresses are present it will prevent them from leaving until it's removed; gathered under Virgo and wrapped in laurel leaves along with the tooth of a wolf, will keep people from saying bad about its bearer.

HIBISCUS FLOWERS love, lust, divinationused to be worn by "women of the night" in their hair.

JASMINE prophetic dreams, lovesprinkled under a pillow induces dreams of future love.

JUNIPER (berries) good health, positive energiesused with thyme to induce visions by the Druids; grown by the door discourages thieves; berries hung in the house attracts love.

LADY'S MANTLE lovecollects dew in the folds of its leaves; nicknamed "Alchemilla" in the 16th century for that reason.

LAVENDAR longevity, happiness, peace, loveenables the wearer to see spiritual beings; protects against the evil eye.

LINDEN protection, love, luck, immortalitybrances hung over the door keep evil from the home; carrying the bark guards against intoxication from liquor.

MEADOWSWEET love, divination, peacetraditionally gathered on midsummer; my all-time favorite herb!

MANDRAKE love, incredibly powerful, offers a maddening shriek when the root is pulled from the ground; tie a rope from the mandrake to a dog's tail, plug your ears and call the dog to pull it from the earth.

MISTLETOE sacred to the Druids, immortality, fertility, visionsan antidote for any poison when worn around the neck; promotes femal fertility; makes unwed women dream of their future husbands when place beneath their pillow; carried will prevent condemnation in court; ruled the Winter Solstice.

MUGWORT visions, psychic powers, prophetic dreams, astral projectionguards against poison, sunstroke, wild beasts, elves and the evil eye; in the shoe keeps travelers from growing weary; worn as a crown increases fertility and desire; worn in Germany as a girdle to protect against black magick; used in China during the Dragon Festival to keep evil demons away.

NETTLE protection, healing, lustfive leaves of nettle held in the hand will ensure safety from all fear and fantasy.

OAK sacred tree of the Druids, strength, potency, protection, luck protects against bewitchment; avenging dieties dwell within all oak trees; catching a falling leaf on the first day of Autumn will bring good luck all winter; acorns protect against lightening and attract wealth; known as the "King of Trees."

PENNYROYAL money, protection, peacemakes a very nice tea for headaches.

ROSE love, divination, psychic powersone of the oldest flowers around; also said to induce psychic dreams; believed in Germany to be protected by dwarves.

ROSEMARY mental powers, love, lust, youth, protectionput at a person's door will keep venemous snakes away, carried on the person keeps evil spirits at bay, a spoon of its wood has power against poison.

ROWAN protection, psychic powers, healingalso said to protect against enchantment, bewitchment, lightening strikes and ghost hauntings; on ships protects travelers from storms; placed over graves to keep restless spirits at bay.

SAGE immortality, longevity, wisdom, wishesbelieved to prolong life; said to only prosper in houses where the wives are the "rulers"; picking 12 leaves on St. Mark's Day at midday will enable a maiden to see her future mate.

THISTLE (blessed) hex-breaking, strength, endurancea traditional Druidic herb, woven into the fabric of clothing for protection from evil in all its forms.

THYME courage, health, psychic powerscarrying it lends courage; when worn, it aids in seeing the Fae; a sprig worn in the hair of a young maiden will make her irrisistible to the opposite sex.

VALERIAN ROOT love, sleep, purification, protectionalso said to protect the home against lightening; used by ancient Greeks as an amulet to keep away evil entities.

VERVAIN love, protection, purification, peace, money, youth, chastity, sleep, healing.historically refered to as verbana; when held against a sick person's hand it will enable the person to correctly answer when asked how they fare.

WILLOW love, protection, healinglong associated with the underworld; traditionally used to bind witch's brooms; when the flowers are eaten, they diminish a man's sexual desire.

YARROW healing, wishes, banishingplucking it from the ground will make your nose bleed; prevents baldness when used to wash the hair; ensures true love for at least seven years when hung over the bed of newlyweds.

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